what a storm...

exactly 1 month after our last ice storm, everyone in central nebraska has power! like most towns, kearney only has limited power (still only 2 of 5 transmission lines), but it's better than nothing!

i found this on Runyan's blog:

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Blue Spaceman 6 Classicness, 11 Technology, 4 Team, -4 Aggressiveness

Your results: Classic High-tech Goodguy Citizen Found in: 6824 Space Dart-I, 1984

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on Classicness You scored higher than 99% on Team You scored higher than 99% on Technology You scored higher than 99% on Aggressiveness

Link: The Which Lego Minifig Are You? Test written by legomutineer on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

dj: congratulations for making it through yesterday

*thinking* ok, so i made it through yesterday. yeah it was a rough day, but so what?

january 22, 2007, was designated as the most depressing day of the year. apparently, it's when all the unpaid christmas bills and failed new year's resolutions culminate. and it's also a monday.

it's really sad that people have failed new year's resolutions only 3 weeks into the year. there are 49 more weeks to succeed at the goal! i guess if you made a commitment to do a certain thing each week or each day it may be failed (but i would hope you would allow yourself more grace than a few small failures).

last year, my resolution was to read a book a month. i thought it was a great goal -- specific, concrete, allowing a bit of flexibility. and i kept it until june (the longest i've ever kept one!) but i started breezing though my books because i waited until the last week to read much. but anyways...on to this year's!

my goal this year is to spend more time with God. i would like to make it more specific, but by being so general, i think it will inspire me to work harder at it. i have found that to keep my goals, i need to allow for a lot of flexibility. and btw, you all have permission to ask how i'm doing on this resolution. i'm sure i'll need prodding every once in a while. :)

blurbs

snowboarding was amazing!! Abu, Aduma, Becky, Martha, and i spent two wonderful days on the slopes. i caught on quick enough (though i wouldn't have said it then) and am ecstatic to go back in 2 weeks to work on it some more. we'll have another great group of friends (including my brother!!)! w00t!

three weeks after our new year's ice storm, kearney is still limping along on only 2 of 5 transmission lines. last week we were so close to exceeding the load that two of our manufacturing plants went back to generators. it's been really neat to watch the community surround those without electricity -- free showers at some schools and the ymca, community shelters, money raised to assist individuals, etc. the utility companies are receiving fema funding to help with their costs (which, last i heard, was at $200 million), but none money of that is going to individuals. i believe there are still a few towns running completely on generators, but they will hopefully be back on line power within a few days.

we started a sermon series on "unforgettable encounters with God" at church yesterday. one of the things Pastor Mike said was that God meets us where we are, not where we should be. isn't that incredible?? it doesn't matter how much i've failed God, He will always meet me wherever i'm at!

we've had 2 ice storms within 2 weeks. many of the utility workers have been working solid since the week before christmas. those guys are incredible! but there are still about 10,000 customers in central nebraska without power -- even entire towns (though most of them have generators by now. kearney is provided power through 5 transmission lines and only one was functional for about a week. one more has been brought up and i don't know about the status of the other two. my boss probably won't get power back for 3-4 weeks. (i'm lucky enough to live really close to our utility company, so mine hasn't been off much.)

i've been watching the 10 o'clock news on a station that is still running on generator. they are only using two cameras, minimal lighting, no heat, and had their newsroom evacuated because chunks of ice were coming through the roof!

i drove in the country a bit and the damage is incredible! pictures can't fully capture it. the majority of the electrical poles were damaged -- some snapped like toothpicks, others bent (i didn't know wood could do that!), and others twisted. i've also seen metal transmission towers crumpled. it's really incredible! one of my coworkers put together this slideshow of pictures from the storm. NPPD (our utility company) also has some great photos and news on the progress of getting the electricity going again.

it will be awhile until i take electricity for granted again!

the impact of a sibling

siblings often have a powerful impact on each other. this can range from the littlest things to something enormous. i have learned that blood doesn't necessarily play a factor -- adopted siblings can have just as much of an influence. i've been blessed to have many adopted siblings in my life -- from my brother William to members of other families.

Jonathan Casselberry has single-handedly convinced me to root for oklahoma sooner football. the only time i don't is when they play the huskers. to be fair, i've started rooting for all big 12 teams in the last year or so. but i definitely root harder for oklahoma than for the rest of them.

this is just one more way the Casselberry's have changed my life! :)